Tuesday, February 01, 2005

by Misha Cohen

4:35 PM

After the Iraqi election, that has apparently gone off without a hitch (and I'm immensely glad of it), and much better than we expected, the question remains, "Do the Ends Justify the Means?" Is it OK to take part in illegal or immoral actions if they result in democracy and freedom for all? Are the successful elections in Iraq (although I think they are less successful than first thought as the Sunnis are going to be disappointed) a justification for the invasion? The answer, of course, is no.

I asked, "Do the ends justify the means," in a chat room recently, and one person said, "The ends are the means." This was an amazing answer. Of course. The path is the goal, the means are the ends. I realized that there really is never an end, there are just a series of means. I mean, if we bring democracy to Iraq, will that stop violence in the world? What exactly is the "End?" Not to mention that if your means are immoral what does it matter what the ends are? If you have committed immoral acts in the name of morality haven't you defeated yourself? Haven't you already lost? If you force a country to be democratic haven't you been undemocratic?

The fact is, you must live in the present moment, and take good care of it (as the Buddhist Thich Nhat Hahn says). You can't worry about the future, just the morality of the present. If you take care of the present, the future will be taken care of. Or at least you have the best shot at it.

I really don't want the world to forget that Bush illegally invaded Iraq. I don't want it to forget that Bush insisted that there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I don't want it to forget Iraq's "imminent threat". I don't want it to forget that the US abused Iraq and tried to make it into a free trade utopia that would benefit us mostly, and Iraq secondarily. I don't want it to forget that Iraq was a means justifying an end in the 80s when we supported Hussein and sold him dual use precursors to chemical and biological weapons.

How about a new party platform? We will uphold

Equality for all people;

Fair treatment of the poor labor force in America and in other countries by the legal standards of the US;